I'm sure this will upset you purists who want it all to be locals, but personally I think there's plenty of room for both big name headliners and all the great local stuff. I always manage to spend plenty of time in the Economy Hall, no matter who is on Acura later that day.

I was reading off the list to my wife; she kept saying "who?" until I sang a line to her of some of the artist's music, evoking a "wow" from her with each one.

Once my two graduate this year I can start thinking about going back. Given the crowds I think one of the premium passes they have added would make it reasonable for my wife (she bemoans being crowded in there "with 300,000 of your closest friends").

_________________What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?

I was reading off the list to my wife; she kept saying "who?" until I sang a line to her of some of the artist's music, evoking a "wow" from her with each one.

Once my two graduate this year I can start thinking about going back. Given the crowds I think one of the premium passes they have added would make it reasonable for my wife (she bemoans being crowded in there "with 300,000 of your closest friends").

The brass pass (which is what you're thinking about) also gives extra support to WWOZ, which is worthwhile if you care about local traditional NOLA music. It's expensive but very much worth it if you don't like crowds.

I was reading off the list to my wife; she kept saying "who?" until I sang a line to her of some of the artist's music, evoking a "wow" from her with each one.

Once my two graduate this year I can start thinking about going back. Given the crowds I think one of the premium passes they have added would make it reasonable for my wife (she bemoans being crowded in there "with 300,000 of your closest friends").

The brass pass (which is what you're thinking about) also gives extra support to WWOZ, which is worthwhile if you care about local traditional NOLA music. It's expensive but very much worth it if you don't like crowds.

Actually, I did tell her about the passes that have special seating and hospitality; she thought that it would be well worth it! Now all I have to do is figure which weekend we can go to...

_________________What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?

Been great weather so far. Last Sunday I went out and it was (by far) the smallest non-Thursday crowd I'd ever seen (esp in good weather). Smaller than some Thursdays. Supposedly last Friday was tiny crowd too (though Saturday was strong).

This thursday they let all locals in for $50. Supposedly on Friday the soft shell po boys were giving everyone an extra half shell so as to not have to throw away perfectly good crabs that weren't being purchased.

The overall attendance numbers will be interesting.

I know I heard more kevetching about a "weak lineup" this year than any other year, but I didn't really think it'd impact anything (people always love to whine about the lineup, for one reason or another, but then still show up). But based on last weekend, it seems like numbers are way down. We'll see.

_________________“We will expect success in all endeavors and be prepared to assess and hold ourselves accountable when we aren't successful. Tulane is a top 40 academic institution and it should expect nothing less from its athletic department.”--Troy Dannen 11.5.16

I know I heard more kevetching about a "weak lineup" this year than any other year, but I didn't really think it'd impact anything (people always love to whine about the lineup, for one reason or another, but then still show up). But based on last weekend, it seems like numbers are way down. We'll see.

It's interesting, my original post was about the star power, but in retrospect, they are a lot of old acts. More of them compared to previous years, but still old. You wouldn't call the lineup "weak" if you are over, say, mid-40s, but there really wasn't much for fans under 30. And a lot of those older acts are really starting to have a "wheelhouse fanbase" who is rapidly heading to retirement age, if not already past it.

Jazzfest has always had its share of "old folks" but it seems like the age (or listening demographic) of the acts is starting to out-age the folks still young enough to make a day trip out in the weather (or risk thereof)... not to mention those willing to pay the (relative to pre-Katrina) exorbitant prices.

Side note: The most-surprising-in-a-good-way act I saw at Jazzfest was Lionel Richie, in 2006 (first after Katrina). After Fats Domino canceled, he was moved to Acura to close the day and we decided to stay there. His show was amazing - I knew every word to every song, it was like he just started from his first hit with the Commodores and went chronologically through his entire career of hits. So I got curious about another older act who played last weekend, Rod Stewart. He's had such a varied career, from sex symbol in the 70s to pop star in the 80s to "adult contemporary/soft rock" in the 90s, and then success covering old jazz standards. I wondered what he'd play. So I looked up his setlist from Jazzfest last week online, and WOW. He played just about every hit he'd ever had. It would have been like watching a 2-disc Greatest Hits collection played live. So even though I'm not a fan per se, I think that would have been an amazing show, simply because it would have been 90+ minutes where I knew every word to every song, similar to Lionel Richie.

A friend sent me a panoramic photo from the top of the very back Acura grandstand and it looked like it was packed all the way back, as crowded as that infamous 2001 day. What was the crowd like overall? Was it as big as it looked? Or have the additions of all the VIP grandstands and other seating just hemmed in the Acura stage where it always looks like that?

A friend sent me a panoramic photo from the top of the very back Acura grandstand and it looked like it was packed all the way back, as crowded as that infamous 2001 day. What was the crowd like overall? Was it as big as it looked? Or have the additions of all the VIP grandstands and other seating just hemmed in the Acura stage where it always looks like that?

Pete—. The VIP stages have compressed Acura somewhat, but my understanding is that it was packed the gills yesterday just like the Saturday before. This will make the overall numbers even more interesting. Do the mega packed days make up for the empty days?

_________________“We will expect success in all endeavors and be prepared to assess and hold ourselves accountable when we aren't successful. Tulane is a top 40 academic institution and it should expect nothing less from its athletic department.”--Troy Dannen 11.5.16

Yeah you rite! Did you see him barking orders to the soundboard because they were messing up his show? At 70 years old still wanting to make it epic. So much better than Rod Stewart imo. Stewart had great musicians accompanying him but he had his back up singers do a bunch of songs without him and he did mostly ballads.

A slight uptick, but that hides the fact that the last two years (from which its an uptick from) were both fairly rainy. This year it only rained (sprinkled) part of one day. And the first weekend wasn't hot. Yet its only a small uptick from 2016 and 2017, and is below 2015 and 2014

_________________“We will expect success in all endeavors and be prepared to assess and hold ourselves accountable when we aren't successful. Tulane is a top 40 academic institution and it should expect nothing less from its athletic department.”--Troy Dannen 11.5.16